How teenagers spoke in the 1940s and 50s was slightly different from how we speak now, but was not actually to different. How Holden speaks in the novel is very representative of how teens actually spoke back then. Here is an example of Holden’s speaking style:
"I forgot to tell you about that. They kicked me out. I wasn't supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all. They gave me frequent warning to start applying myself-especially around mid-terms, when my parents came up for a conference with old Thurmer-but I didn't do it. So I got the ax. They give guys the ax quite frequently at Pencey. It has a very good academic rating, Pencey. It really does." (4)
The one thing that was quite different back then was the slang which they used. In the 1940s/50s, the slang which they used was very different than that of what we use right now. Much of the slang which they used then have a completely different meaning than they do now.
Here is a few interesting ones, do any of you happen to know what the term bum rap happens to mean? What about to drop someone? Dope? Chrome-dome? Or how about bust your chops?
All of these are examples of the saying or slang which they would use back then. Here are the definitions. A bum rap refers to a false accusation someone may have made. The saying to drop someone means to kill someone. Dope in that time period referred to information although as we know now it is not exactly the same thing. A chrome-dome was an offensive term referring to a bald headed man. Bust your chops means scolding.
Pastimes and Other Life:
In the 1940s/50s, teenagers enjoyed a variety of different activities and pastimes, many of them very different from what we are used to doing today. In the 1940s/50s, there really was no television because it was a very new and developing thing. Television had just been finished in 1947 and there were 13 channels available and the amount of people who owned T.V.s at the time was 0.4% of the population of the United States. During this time period there weren’t computers that were really available to the public. The first computer was built in 1945 which weighed 30 tons and was 2 stories high.
What teenagers during this time period did as pastimes sometimes varied greatly from what we do now. Back then they enjoyed things such as listening to the radio and dancing a dance they had called the “jitterbug”. The radio was extremely important to them back then and was like the modern T.V. is to us. Back in the 1940s/50s, the radio provided music, news, and entertainment. People would listen to the radio all the time. There were game shows and sports game coverage. The radio was extremely important to the people of that time. Could you imagine yourself listening to the radio for hours instead of watching T.V. or going on facebook? How about just not having any T.V. or computer? In this time period they also like to go dancing, go to clubs and listen to music, playing cards, reading, bowling, and going to movies and especially drive in movies.In the book, Holden says, "I had quite a bit of time to kill till ten o'clock, so what I did, I went to the movies at Radio City."(137) Going to the movies was a big thing in this time period. Teenagers especially like going to drive in movies. Books were read quite a lot more than now. Science fiction novels were especially popular at the time and most of them pertained to the threat of a nuclear war.
School was also much more different than it is now. In school girls would learn things such as sowing, cooking, and cleaning. Boys would have a much higher focus on physical education to prepare them for possibly going off to war. During this period the term teenager really became popular. This was because teenagers were left home alone more because their fathers were off at war and moms were starting to work more. Teenagers at the time found jobs more readily because all of the men had left. Advertising starts to be geared more toward teens.
Here is an example of a drive in theater which was very popular at the time.
Income:
Before you read the following paragraph, how much do you think was the average income? How much do you think a person like Holden's dad was making?
In 1949 the median income for a family was around $5,292 a year. The minimum wage in the 1940s was 43 cents per hour. This might sound low, however, it was alright at the time because things back then were also much cheaper than at the moment, so in the end it evened out. For example, a loaf of bread was only 14 cents. Based on the research, the average corporate lawyer, like Holden's dad, was making about $15,000 a year.
Music
Many European musicians immigrated to America and introduced a style of music that was made very popular in the 20th century. These European immigrants such as Bela Bartok, Arnold Schoenberg, and Paul Hindemith made classical dissonance widely popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Other than classical music, some American born composers such as Aaron Copland remained traditional writing songs such as “Appalachian Spring”.
In the beginning of the 1940s, music was dominated by Big Bands. Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman led some of the most famous bands. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra were some of the most famous singers at the time. Eventually, many of the signers in these Big Bands started to stand out on their own. Be-Bop and Rhythm Blues started to grow from the Big Band era and lasted until the late 1940s. Many singers such as Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday performed blues and jazz.
In the 1940s, radio was widely popular throughout the United States as it provided news, music, and entertainment just like television today. Soap operas, quiz shows, mystery stories and many more programmes were included on the radio. The government relied heavily on the radio for propaganda. As television started to take over, radio decreased in popularity, but the most popular radio shows were shown on television such as Bob Hope, Truth or Consequences, and Jack Benny.
Fashion
In 1947, Christian Dior introduced the “New Look”. Women wore long, full skirts, tight waists, and shoulder pads were a must. The most common hair was curled and was shoulder-length. http://www.vintagevixen.com/history/1940s.asp
The Zoot Suit was very popular among young men until the War Production Department restricted the amount of fabric that could be used in men’s garments. Women wore “convertible suits” that included a jacket, short skirt, and a blouse. Stocking weren’t available, so instead women used to draw a line up the backs of their legs with eyeliner to give the illusion of stockings.
In 1950, nylon stocking became extremely popular. For dancing, wide skirts were used rather than petticoats. Blouses were made of soft nylon, and makeup was very important for eyes and lips, and the nail polish always matched the lipstick. Men wore suits and ties on the dance floor, and there were chain stores that supplied a “ready-to-wear” suit for under $15.
Teen boys would dress up in tuxedos or a nice pair of slacks. Most of the time though, teen boys liked to dress casual wearing things such as, army boots or loafers, baggy jeans. Letterman jackets were also very common, or cardigans, to show off school pride.
Teen boys also liked wearing their shirts baggy, and they rarely tucked them in unless they had to go out for dinner or something special. One last thing about teen boys was their socks. Boys liked wearing their striped football socks with their loafers.
Younger girls had a bit of a different fashion style. They usually liked wearing boyish comfy clothes that were more casual. Short cotton socks, flat soled loafers, sloppy joe sweaters, and blue jeans were all very common.
Now that you have learned about life in the 1940s and the 1950s, would like to be a teenager living in this time period? What would you like or dislike about this?
How teenagers spoke in the 1940s and 50s was slightly different from how we speak now, but was not actually to different. How Holden speaks in the novel is very representative of how teens actually spoke back then. Here is an example of Holden’s speaking style:
"I forgot to tell you about that. They kicked me out. I wasn't supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all. They gave me frequent warning to start applying myself-especially around mid-terms, when my parents came up for a conference with old Thurmer-but I didn't do it. So I got the ax. They give guys the ax quite frequently at Pencey. It has a very good academic rating, Pencey. It really does." (4)
The one thing that was quite different back then was the slang which they used. In the 1940s/50s, the slang which they used was very different than that of what we use right now. Much of the slang which they used then have a completely different meaning than they do now.
Here is a few interesting ones, do any of you happen to know what the term bum rap happens to mean? What about to drop someone? Dope? Chrome-dome? Or how about bust your chops?
All of these are examples of the saying or slang which they would use back then. Here are the definitions. A bum rap refers to a false accusation someone may have made. The saying to drop someone means to kill someone. Dope in that time period referred to information although as we know now it is not exactly the same thing. A chrome-dome was an offensive term referring to a bald headed man. Bust your chops means scolding.
Pastimes and Other Life:
In the 1940s/50s, teenagers enjoyed a variety of different activities and pastimes, many of them very different from what we are used to doing today. In the 1940s/50s, there really was no television because it was a very new and developing thing. Television had just been finished in 1947 and there were 13 channels available and the amount of people who owned T.V.s at the time was 0.4% of the population of the United States. During this time period there weren’t computers that were really available to the public. The first computer was built in 1945 which weighed 30 tons and was 2 stories high.
What teenagers during this time period did as pastimes sometimes varied greatly from what we do now. Back then they enjoyed things such as listening to the radio and dancing a dance they had called the “jitterbug”. The radio was extremely important to them back then and was like the modern T.V. is to us. Back in the 1940s/50s, the radio provided music, news, and entertainment. People would listen to the radio all the time. There were game shows and sports game coverage. The radio was extremely important to the people of that time. Could you imagine yourself listening to the radio for hours instead of watching T.V. or going on facebook? How about just not having any T.V. or computer? In this time period they also like to go dancing, go to clubs and listen to music, playing cards, reading, bowling, and going to movies and especially drive in movies.In the book, Holden says, "I had quite a bit of time to kill till ten o'clock, so what I did, I went to the movies at Radio City."(137) Going to the movies was a big thing in this time period. Teenagers especially like going to drive in movies. Books were read quite a lot more than now. Science fiction novels were especially popular at the time and most of them pertained to the threat of a nuclear war.
School was also much more different than it is now. In school girls would learn things such as sowing, cooking, and cleaning. Boys would have a much higher focus on physical education to prepare them for possibly going off to war. During this period the term teenager really became popular. This was because teenagers were left home alone more because their fathers were off at war and moms were starting to work more. Teenagers at the time found jobs more readily because all of the men had left. Advertising starts to be geared more toward teens.
Here is an example of a drive in theater which was very popular at the time.
Income:
Before you read the following paragraph, how much do you think was the average income? How much do you think a person like Holden's dad was making?
In 1949 the median income for a family was around $5,292 a year. The minimum wage in the 1940s was 43 cents per hour. This might sound low, however, it was alright at the time because things back then were also much cheaper than at the moment, so in the end it evened out. For example, a loaf of bread was only 14 cents. Based on the research, the average corporate lawyer, like Holden's dad, was making about $15,000 a year.
Music
Many European musicians immigrated to America and introduced a style of music that was made very popular in the 20th century. These European immigrants such as Bela Bartok, Arnold Schoenberg, and Paul Hindemith made classical dissonance widely popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Other than classical music, some American born composers such as Aaron Copland remained traditional writing songs such as “Appalachian Spring”.
In the beginning of the 1940s, music was dominated by Big Bands. Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman led some of the most famous bands. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra were some of the most famous singers at the time. Eventually, many of the signers in these Big Bands started to stand out on their own. Be-Bop and Rhythm Blues started to grow from the Big Band era and lasted until the late 1940s. Many singers such as Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday performed blues and jazz.
Little Shirley Beans
It Don't Mean A Thing
Radio
In the 1940s, radio was widely popular throughout the United States as it provided news, music, and entertainment just like television today. Soap operas, quiz shows, mystery stories and many more programmes were included on the radio. The government relied heavily on the radio for propaganda. As television started to take over, radio decreased in popularity, but the most popular radio shows were shown on television such as Bob Hope, Truth or Consequences, and Jack Benny.
Fashion
In 1947, Christian Dior introduced the “New Look”. Women wore long, full skirts, tight waists, and shoulder pads were a must. The most common hair was curled and was shoulder-length.
http://www.vintagevixen.com/history/1940s.asp
The Zoot Suit was very popular among young men until the War Production Department restricted the amount of fabric that could be used in men’s garments. Women wore “convertible suits” that included a jacket, short skirt, and a blouse. Stocking weren’t available, so instead women used to draw a line up the backs of their legs with eyeliner to give the illusion of stockings.
In 1950, nylon stocking became extremely popular. For dancing, wide skirts were used rather than petticoats. Blouses were made of soft nylon, and makeup was very important for eyes and lips, and the nail polish always matched the lipstick. Men wore suits and ties on the dance floor, and there were chain stores that supplied a “ready-to-wear” suit for under $15.
Teen boys would dress up in tuxedos or a nice pair of slacks. Most of the time though, teen boys liked to dress casual wearing things such as, army boots or loafers, baggy jeans. Letterman jackets were also very common, or cardigans, to show off school pride.
Teen boys also liked wearing their shirts baggy, and they rarely tucked them in unless they had to go out for dinner or something special. One last thing about teen boys was their socks. Boys liked wearing their striped football socks with their loafers.
Younger girls had a bit of a different fashion style. They usually liked wearing boyish comfy clothes that were more casual. Short cotton socks, flat soled loafers, sloppy joe sweaters, and blue jeans were all very common.
Now that you have learned about life in the 1940s and the 1950s, would like to be a teenager living in this time period? What would you like or dislike about this?
Bibliography
http://www.bestyears.com/1949
http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade40.html
http://www.slideshare.net/guesta93588/teenagers-of-the-1950s
http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2006/2/12/18199/4576
http://www.yourdictionary.com/grammar/slang/1940s-slang.html
http://nostalgia049.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/drive-in-movies-still-exist-today/
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/images/object_images/535x535/10405933.jpg
https://twicelearned.wikispaces.com/On+the+Homefront+1940's
http://www.costumes.org/history/20thcent/1940s/sews4victory/suitthatboughtbond.jpg
http://cdn1.ioffer.com/img/1137916800/_i/10263638/1.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R2yHiPgsajA/SUHxGrta-nI/AAAAAAAAAf8/mVO0JutAiqY/s400/1950+bears+varsity+jacket.jpg
http://electricka.com/etaf/muses/music/gone_but_not_forgotten/big_band_era/multimedia/zoot-suit-yellow.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kzzLM2wUVXY/TCFtsfU4pwI/AAAAAAAABHg/QgLQ2-9rGs4/s400/jcrew+penny+loafer.bmp
http://nycblog.citysearch.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/07/03/1947dior_5_2.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/211/471709458_f0dc4830f3.jpg
Songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsfw9CEQITA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I36j-E5fF-w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4udYq7-0Gg